By Caitlyn McGarry
Recently, we sat down with Sofia, a 17-year-old Red Bank Regional High School student and participant in our Alliance for Success program (AFS). AFS helps high school juniors and seniors navigate the college admissions process through weekly educational workshops, one-on-one mentoring and college visit
Recently, we sat down with Sofia, a 17-year-old Red Bank Regional High School student and participant in our Alliance for Success program (AFS). AFS helps high school juniors and seniors navigate the college admissions process through weekly educational workshops, one-on-one mentoring and college visits.
Sofia is currently interning with Lunch Break’s Development Department, as her membership in the Academy of Finance requires. Of this decision, she said, “I’m already involved with Lunch Break, and it’s a great place. So, I’m here, it’s going great, and I’m halfway there!” Living in Red Bank since age 8, Sofia puts her family first as it is her top value in life. She spends her time helping her mom with different jobs and providing care for her siblings.
She is a very intelligent and driven student, with a bright future ahead of her. When asked what she likes to do, at first she was confused and thought we were asking the same question everyone asks a person her age: what do you want to be when you grow up? To this, she answered, “I don’t know exactly what I want to do… Finance calls to me”. But after further questioning, she realized the question was more about what she enjoys doing for fun or in her “free time”, and that question gave her a bit of pause. We asked about school clubs or hobbies. To this she responded, “I don’t have time for clubs, I’m very busy…I used to play soccer, but I didn’t have time. Between school, homework, my job, helping my mom out, watching my 6-year-old sister. If I had time, I would play sports.” She noted that she specifically enjoys soccer and bowling, though she played various sports growing up, including softball (as pictured below). She lit up at the concept of intramural sports in college, as she had never heard of this before. Her limited ability to enjoy sports due to other, more pressing obligations is a common occurrence and harsh reality for local youth.
We asked Sofia in-depth questions about her internship with Lunch Break, like what she learned so far. Her response revealed a key component to Lunch Break’s success: community support.
“It’s very donation-centered. There are a lot of donations made. I knew it was going to be donations, but the amount of people that donated surprised me, I didn’t expect that,” Sofia shared her observation. It’s true: we can’t do the vital community work we do without the overwhelming support we receive from our community. The need is constantly growing, with food prices increasing and affordable homes few and far between. We depend on the continued support and generosity of our local community to meet this demand. Sofia has been witnessing firsthand just how much it takes to meet that demand.
Sofia has shown, and told us, how eager to learn and open to new work experiences she is. Regarding what she hopes to learn at Lunch Break – “Anything. Accounting, Finance, volunteering work – just experience,” Sofia expressed. She currently works at a local restaurant as a Hostess. When asked how this work compares to her internship, she remarked, “I deal with customers, it’s a restaurant where people are coming in and out…one similarity is that I take orders and everything has to be right. In finance, everything has to be right too, it has to match whatever that person bought or donated”. She noted that she is learning how much she enjoys independent work, though she made sure I knew that is not to say she can’t or doesn’t want to work as part of a team.
We asked Sofia about her dreams, if nothing was standing in her way. “My own house. Not a big mansion, what if I’m all alone in there? I’m more like a medium house, start with one floor, and build from there,” She begins simply, and continues, “My own business. If I had all the money, I would help people. I want to help kids, a bunch of kids, so that they have what they need. I would also help homeless people”. We told Sofia that she is in the right place to learn if this is the work that lies in her heart. She continues, “And I want to travel. Last I checked, I have like 65+ places on my list.”.
We hope she never stops dreaming and finds the work that makes her heart soar. For now, she is a lovely and incredibly helpful addition to the Development Team at Lunch Break. We’ll be so sad to see her go.
